Chapter 1046: Infiltration and Konohagakure!
Chapter 1046: Infiltration and Konohagakure!
Konohagakure!
It is now bustling with activity, but this is not the usual kind of bustle.
Under normal circumstances, a bustling village is a good thing, but no one thinks that way now.
The two factions are vying for the position of Hokage, and while they refrain from outright violence, they are employing every other means possible.
And it's not just that!
People from various major forces are continuously gathering here.
Without the support of these forces, the Dove Faction—Tsunade's faction—would have already taken the upper hand and secured the position of Hokage.
After all, the Blazing Sun Kingdom decisively defeated the Ninja World's allied forces in the recent battle, giving the Dove Faction a significant advantage.
Now, everyone fears that Konohagagure might not be able to hold up, so they are all contributing whatever they can to support the Hawk Faction.
This is why a large number of non-Konohagakure ninjas, monks, and others have arrived.
These forces have no good intentions.
They are supporting Konohagakure to turn it into a frontline defense to block the expansion of the Blazing Sun Kingdom.
In addition to those arriving, many villagers are also leaving.
This indicates that no place in the Ninja World is truly safe; otherwise, only a few villagers would be fleeing.
In short, Konohagakure is now in a state of turmoil.
Amidst this chaos, a black cat the size of a bus arrived at the village gates along the wide road.
Everyone on the road made way.
Even ninja teams stepped aside, and no one dared to stop the black cat.
Why?
It was clear that this black cat was a ninja beast, and ordinary people wouldn't dare to obstruct it.
Ninjas wouldn't stop it out of curiosity either, as they were well aware of the stringent conditions required to have a ninja beast.
Ninja Beasts!
Don't assume they are numerous.
Out of a hundred ninjas, only a few might have one.
Of course, this refers to useful ninja beasts; useless ones don't count.
A black cat of this size was clearly not ordinary, and no ninja would be so incompetent as to fail to recognize this.
"Stop!"
Gang Ziti stopped the black cat.
There were no such procedures in the past, but the situation now is different.
Konohagakure is almost in chaos, so vigilance is at an all-time high.
"We are from the Land of Hot Water's Ninja Cat Village. Here are our token and mission proof!"
The black cat spat out a palm-sized cat-shaped doll and a scroll.
The doll was the token.
In the Ninja World, there are not only ninja villages but also hidden clans living in seclusion. These places are known as 'Ninja Villages,' and while their strength may not be great, their numbers are considerable.
Thus, such tokens are essential. The mission proof, meanwhile, bears the seals of the local nobles and the Land of Fire, indicating their origin and purpose.
Given Tang Ping's character, he naturally had chess pieces already in place.
This Ninja Cat Village, for instance, is a covert force of the Blazing Sun Kingdom. Having them provide the token and assist with the mission is no problem.
This way, no one can find any issues with the procedures.
Everything is genuine; how could anyone find a problem?
The Blazing Sun Kingdom has many such chess pieces, so Tang Ping isn't concerned about this one being compromised.
Why did the black cat handle the negotiation?
Of course, because Tang Ping was still resting.
Summoned beasts can easily replace ninjas, so Gang Ziti saw nothing wrong with this approach.
He carefully examined the token and the scroll.
Each place's token has subtle differences, making it difficult for outsiders to forge. Mission scrolls are even more challenging to fake.
While ordinary seals are easy for ninjas to forge, these mission scrolls have anti-counterfeiting measures.
Thus, Gang Ziti quickly confirmed Tang Ping's identity and purpose.
"Fujima Ryo, is it? Welcome to Konohagakure. I hope you will abide by the village's rules. Otherwise, the Konohagakure prison has been seeing a lot of new inmates among you outsiders!"
Gang Zite handed the items back to the black cat and then raised his voice to speak to Tang Ping, who was lying on its back. Without waiting to see if Tang Ping had noticed, he waved to signal that they could enter the village.
After all, the other party was a ninja, and he couldn't possibly conduct a thorough inspection.
After all, information was the most crucial asset for a ninja. If he were to pry too deeply, it would be no different from a provocation.
"What a huge cat!"
"Is this a summoned beast?"
"Don't get too close, or you might get eaten!"
...
The ninjas and villagers naturally saw the black cat, but they were merely curious and did not cause any commotion or gather around.
There was no way they would, considering this was Konoha.
A village where ninjas lived, and even the most extraordinary events were not out of place.
After entering the village, the black cat had no intention of waking Tang Ping. It slowly leapt onto a rooftop and crouched down, carefully adjusting its position to ensure Tang Ping could sleep more comfortably.
One could say that the black cat's intelligence was on par with that of a human.
From a distance, a figure wearing an animal mask and a uniform was watching the black cat's actions.
It was an Anbu of Konoha!
Not just Tang Ping, but all ninjas entering Konoha received this treatment, though the monitors might differ.
A ninja like Tang Ping, who was accompanied by a medium-sized summoned beast, was considered a high-priority target, so an Anbu was assigned to watch him.
The Konoha guards, on the other hand, handled regular ninjas.
Currently, Konoha alone had over a thousand visiting ninjas, and this number was only the beginning; it would only increase in the future.
It was precisely this support that allowed Asuma to challenge Tsunade; otherwise, the position of Hokage would have been a foregone conclusion.
The Anbu monitored Tang Ping and the black cat for half a day, from the afternoon until the next morning.
The bright and dazzling light rose from the eastern horizon.
If one had special abilities or a strong sense of perception, they would have noticed something peculiar.
As the sunlight entered this area, it seemed to vanish as if being swallowed by something.
The center of this phenomenon was, of course, the black cat crouching on the rooftop... with Tang Ping on its back.
Yes, this strange occurrence was unintentionally caused by Tang Ping.
As the Lord of Liangyang, his body naturally possessed some unique traits.
For instance, he was immune to temperature and fire and could absorb both to recover, which was an innate ability.
Note, it was an instinct!
Just like birds flying and fish swimming, it required no effort or spirit energy.
Tang Ping had instructed the black cat to let him 'bask in the sun' while on the road, so it chose to rest on the rooftop instead of finding a hotel.
Yes, as a summoned beast, the black cat could actually pay for a hotel room.
Tang Ping, who had been in a deep sleep, was now gradually waking up.
Given his current strength, he truly had no fear of anything happening to him, especially since he had taken numerous precautions and had the Death God Clone watching over him. He was genuinely unafraid of danger.
Did they really think he was so foolish as to have no defenses?
In fact, his actions were a deliberate attempt to 'fish' and see if there were any hidden enemies in the Ninja World.
The results were reassuring.
This allowed him to rest easy.
Once he dealt with his current tasks, conquered the Land of Fire and a few smaller countries, and set up his future strategy, he could finally relax.
In such a relaxed state, he chose to come and enjoy the fun, taking a break rather than returning to work.
After working so hard for so many years, he deserved a bit of enjoyment, didn't he?
After stretching his body, he looked around and realized he was in Konoha.
With the massive stone faces of the Hokages nearby, it wasn't hard to figure out where he was.
However, what made him feel uneasy was the large number of ninjas gathered a few streets away, as if something interesting was happening. His curiosity was piqued.
"You go back first!"
He took out two bottles of motteniao and threw them to the black cat.
"Thank you, sir!"
The black cat swallowed the items and disappeared from the rooftop, leaving behind a token and a mission scroll.
Picking up the items on the ground, Tang Ping leapt toward the lively area, which was the Nara Clan's district, with an Anbu trailing behind him.
(End of Chapter)
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